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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Pine Cone Tree Tutorial

All the fall Pinterest pins have inspired me to start thinking fall. I am so ready to say goodbye to this hot, humid weather. It was actually 101 degrees here again today!! Hurry up fall. I promised a tutorial on this pine cone tree that I made last fall. Please excuse my daughter's pink Snuggie on the couch. :)

I actually made 4 of these trees last year. Pine cones are definitely plentiful here in the south. These trees were so fun and easy to make that I just kept on until I ran out of pines cones. Having five huge Pine trees around my playground at school doesn't help my pine cone addiction. My students last year saw me picking them up and decided it was so fun that before I knew it, I had bags of pine cones. :) I apologize that the photos are not that great because they were taken with my phone. This was before my blogging days, and the only reason I took the photos was to show my students what I made with the pine cones.

Here is the tutorial for making these cute little trees. Please keep in mind, that our pine cones this year are not plentiful yet, even after hurricane winds. So I made due with what I could find, and these aren't as pretty.

The first step is to cut a piece of cardboard. This is actually from a cereal box. Lovely photo, huh?

Next try to find pine cones that are all about the same size. There is a smaller one that I used to fill in a small hole at the base. Using the hot glue gun, just glue securely to the cardboard. Warning......this project uses lots of glue sticks.

The next part is like fitting the pieces of a puzzle together. Layer after layer, glue the pine cones using the size that fits best in each place.

Here is a side view after three rows of pine cones. Notice the slight hole in the middle. You can easily go back later and fill in the holes with tiny pine cones. At this point, start bringing the cones in some so that the hole is the middle gets smaller as you go up. This is what makes it narrower at the top.

You want you inside circle to close in as you go up. Depending on how fast you close the circle in will determine the height of your tree.

Almost to the top in the photo below. I've reached the point where I would've preferred to use smaller cones if I had them. You can also trim them back if you need them to fit better.

Here is an up close of the tree from last year. Notice how I had smaller cones to work with.

The fun thing about making these trees is that each one comes out looking different. Even turning it around will sometimes give you a different look. Here is the finished tree I made yesterday. Because this is a tutorial, I wanted to show you how to remedy gaps in the tree. Notice the arrow has a blank spot that needs a tiny pine cone. Yep, tomorrow I will be searching for that small pine cone to fill that gap. Just keep working with your tree until you get the desired look you want. Be sure you remove all the little glue strings, too! I rushed this project so I could get it posted. I'm pretty messy with the glue gun. We won't even talk about how much I have to clean off my kitchen table. :)

I am going to share two more trees from last fall, but be warned...they were taken with my phone.

Here is a small one I put on the top of my kitchen cabinets. Mr. Ed was not happy something new was in his secret sleeping spot! I added sparkly ribbon to it for Christmas, and put a few small bows on it. The photo below is one tree that I placed in front of my fireplace and added ribbon to it. Notice the gold pine cone on top. I ran out of small ones and used one that I had sprayed to put in my lanterns. This year, I think I am going to spray a couple of the trees gold for Christmas.

If you have followed my blog for any amount of time, you know I like to leave you with my lessons learned the hard way. Number one, when you use decorations for fall and again for Christmas, don't pack them up so you can't get to them!! Yes, they are wrapped up and stacked behind mounds of Christmas decorations. I plan on tackling that major project this weekend. Lesson Number 2, don't store your hot glued trees in the garage when your summer temperatures are in the 100s. One tree wouldn't fit in my storage closet, not thinking, I put it in the garage. Let's just say I now have a blob of pine cones loaded with glue. :) I think it was probably the tree in the picture above. I will let you know if I'm able to salvage that project. I also think I will spray a protective coat on the trees this year.

I can't wait to see your pine cone trees! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions that I didn't answer in the tutorial. I am always here to help.

Kathy,The pine cone tree is definitely on my to do list as we have a plentiful supply of cones from our pine trees. Been thinking of lots of crafts to make with them for the Fall/Winter decor months.Your trees look fabulous!

I love that you made these without using styrofoam for the base! I've got to start picking them up! Wasn't quite 100 here today but the feels like temperature was 116!!! Ouch! Waiting on a cool front that is coming in this weekend. The high on Sunday is supposed to be 86!!! That's FALL in Texas!

Your pinecone tree is simply stunning.I LOVE to create with pinecones, and seeing your darling tree has inspired me to get busy on one for our home.Thanks so much for tutorial.have a wonderful day.~Diane

You certainly make is seem easy to do...I'm wondering if I can do it? We don't have many pine cones here in Dallas so I would have to go to Michaels and purchase a bag of them to work with. I might try this and paint the tips of the pinecones silver for Christmas.

Love your trees! Many years ago when I was a cub scout leader and used pine cones in projects, I remember having to put them in the oven to open them. But, I guess that depends on the type of pine tree you get them from. I'm going to try this especially since you don't need a base or form. Thanks for the great tutorial.

I love it!! It's been fun checking out your blog! I would love to have you stop by and enter my link party, as well. (Hosted every Saturday) http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2012/09/hello-weekend-50-mikarose-giveaway.html

Kathy, thank you for stopping by Quilts & Other Good Things! I love your pine cone trees! I, too, have learned the hard way about storing things in hot garages! I also learned when we lived in colder climates the glue things don't do well outside. Sigh! There must be a happy medium! I'm following you, too!

I'm with you, so over summer, want cool, cool weather please. I have to say your pine cone trees are so darling, and such great texture. I also have to say your Mr. Ed is adorable, he looks perplexed something is in his "sleeping" place. My heart goes out to him, his face really says it all. Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!

Thanks for this post, I had to try this one cause I just love anything with pine cones! Turned out great!! Even my husband was impressed. I added walnuts and cranberries to mine for a little but of a color variation. LOVE IT!!

Kathy, these are adorable! I get so many pine cones and run out of ideas! I'm definitely borrowing your idea!! Also, going to be featuring this on Facebook:)Thanks for joining the party at Keep Calm and Link Up!Barbara at Chase the Starchasethestar dot net

Great job Kathy! What a fun use of pine cones and thanks for the great tutorial. The kitty is too cute. I know what you mean about packing away. I am still looking for a large crow I wanted to use with my Fall decor. I'm sure it's in with the Halloween but not ready to dig through it all. Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup. I am now following you.Hugs,Jann

Though I live in the desert, my kids always manage to find pinecones. This will give me something to do with them! Thanks for joining the party at One Creative Weekend! I hope to see you back tomorrow.

Hi Kathy, Your in the spotlight today! Just wanted you to know & you can pick up a featured button right on the site at the submit/link up page or drop down from about. Need help just let me know & I can email you code & how to. Theresa @ DearCreatives.com Hope to see you again soon & feel free to link up anytime!

Oh, thank you so much! I actually cut a circle out of a large box of cereal. So probably about 8-10 inches. The larger the base, the bigger your tree will be. I have also made smaller bases when I had enough small cones. Hope this helps. Have fun!!! Thanks for visiting. :)

I LOVE this pine cone tree it's really just too stinkin' cute, thanks for the great tutorial, You've been featured today at Sunday Round Up! > http://www.kaylascreationsblog.com/2012/09/sunday-round-up-22.html Have a great weekend!,

Thanks so much for sharing your trees at Etcetorize last week. I'll be featuring your project at tonight's Make it Great party. I hope you'll stop by to grab a featured button from the sidebar and link up again!

A 10 out of 10. natural, easy, elegant, cost nothing. perfect! Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas at our linky party at http://www.finecraftguild.com/ & we love seeing you back there this week with another project!!

I have looking for a good pinecone project for a long time and now I have found it. Your trees are beautiful. I live right outside of Chattanooga, TN so pine trees and pine cones are plentiful. Can't wait to make one of these trees.

The pine cone tree you have made is stunning! Thank you for taking the time to share the tutorial with us :) I hope it's okay, I've finished a pine cone crafts and decor round-up on my blog and featured your gorgeous tree. You can see it here:

Oh, thank you so much! They are so fun and easy to make. We have so many pine trees here, too! I tend to go a little crazy with them. Have fun, and have a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Holy cow Kathy....I can't decide whether I like these better for fall or Christmas. What a simple idea, to just stack the pine cones on top of each other and glue them down. I would have been messing with trying to make a cone first out of something and glue them to the cone. You're a genius! Pinning this one too. Great job!

I have some huge pine cones I collected 15 years ago in California. They are just so beautiful that I haven't been able to part with them and would be fun to do a tree with them. It may be big enough to be "the tree" in the house since I didn't want to set up a traditional pine tree this year. Plus I'm thinking that it would be very pretty outside in the snow with white lights on it! So many possibilities!!